Starlight Residue
by Pastel Ink
Summary: “I knew you’d make it through, Bro!” Simon says, and sounds proud. What if Kamina had lived through the Dai-Ganzen fight?
1. Chapter 1

* * *

**Starlight Residue**

He wakes up surrounded by unfamiliar walls. It feels sterile, but the curtains block his view of the rest of the room. The lights are bright. They're white, and he has trouble adjusting to seeing real light that isn't the sun or the tinted shade of blue from underground. He's also seen the bright colored screens from inside the Gurren, but that's different. He sits up quickly, intending to push the curtains aside. The splitting pain in his side makes him groan loudly and collapse back onto the bed.

Well, it's surprisingly comfortable, at any rate.

He hears a strange sliding noise, somehow similar to air-pressure, then footsteps. Before he even has time to jump to conclusions, Yoko throws the curtains to the side, Simon standing slightly behind her. They both look relieved; he can't tell which of them seems closer to tears, despite the wide smiles.

"I knew you'd make it through, Bro!" Simon says, and sounds proud.

Yoko's look of relief is quickly replaced with a glare. She crosses her arms over her chest, huffing loudly. "An idiot like him wouldn't die so easily," she says, turning away. But after a short pause, she gives him a sidelong glance. "That might be admirable, though."

He can't keep his confusion off his face, and cocks an eyebrow, frowning. Still, he manages to say "Who the hell do you think I am?" It's much calmer than usual, and hardly a question. The red-head just nods and sighs.

"Kamina the idiot," she tells him. He's surprised when she turns and begins to leave, tossing a quick "Get some rest, idiot hero," over her shoulder.

The door's close behind her.

Simon sits by his side, and stares at his shoes. Kamina had nearly forgotten he was there, just for a moment, and berates himself. But he grins.

"Keep your head high," he commands. The younger boy looks up obediently, but his hands remain stuffed awkwardly in his pockets.

He knows that Kamina won't be angry with him. But he still thinks _You almost died, this is my fault_. But over that guilt, over that feeling of helplessness and self-blaming, Simon thinks _Almost dying isn't bravery, it's stupidity. _He hates that he isn't more sympathetic for the injuries. Hates that he's betraying Kamina by disagreeing with him.

"We have t'keep fighting," Kamina says slowly, and pushes himself up against the headboard of the bed with a minimal wince. He looks at his bandages, and adds "Don't have time t'be layin' around doing nothing."

He still looks so strong. His body is still so big; still so tough. Simon stares at the bandages instead of his face. "Rossiu and Yoko have been trading off piloting Gurren. You've been out for two days. This is the Dai-Ganzen, which… Well, luckily it has a lot of first aid supplies, so Leeron was able to patch you up."

After grimacing at the thought of Leeron touching him, the older boy sighs. "I can take it easy for a while, at least." He doesn't look at all glad. "Tch. Missing out on the fun."

"You'll fight better scarred up than you will bleeding everywhere," Simon says, and manages a small laugh. Kamina laughs back, louder, more enthusiastically. Simon is still so small. He still looks so insignificant.

"So you're doing just fine without me," he hears himself say.

Simon almost looks _offended_. "We're having a really tough time without you there! We're doing our best, but only just getting by. Yoko and Rossiu aren't as good with Gurren."

"Heh." Kamina can't stop his mood from lightening, and grins. "Of course! Only the leader of the Great Gurren Brigade can properly control Gurren itself!"

Simon nods, smiling contentedly. After a moment of hesitation, he opens his mouth to speak. A loud siren cuts him off.

"You rest up," Simon says hurriedly, and nearly dashes out the door. Kamina is left staring at the empty space, with many things to think about.

So Kamina rests. He lies in a bed, and hobbles around the ship when he feels like it. The other men were quick to accept renaming it the Dai-Gurren. They joke around with him the same as always; it's hard to feel weak, despite needing the crutches at first.

But he sees Simon coming back from battles, exhausted and bruised, and curses his slow healing. The boy waves, and let's out a long breath that is not quite a sigh. He smiles. Battered and tired, he is proud, and still bursting with... Something. Kamina can't say that it's energy, when all the boy seems able to say to him is "I'm going to rest," each day. Some nights the boy returns, exuberant with tales of the fight and how Lagann is starting to get easier to control.

He says he misses fighting with his Bro, though he appreciates that Rossiu and Yoko are doing their best. He tells Kamina about the moves he did, or the attacks he decided to use. About the feel of the core drill in his hand and around his neck, even when it's plugged into the Lagann, and not actually touching him at all. He talks about the spiral on the dashboard, and how it's spinning, spinning, spinning is all he can see - how sometimes it's all he can think about.

But the visits are brief, and Simon tells him, "Rest up and get better soon! I know you can recover faster than anyone, Bro!"

Yoko visits him, and sits on the side of his bed. She says "Simon is really picking up. It's like he's been doing this way longer than the rest of us."

"Of course! Who the hell do you think he is?" Kamina grins.

The girl smiles, but doesn't have comment. Instead she says "Ron says you can probably start training tomorrow. You said you're feeling a lot better right?" She pauses, and he nods. "Maybe tonight you and Simon could go out and practice together."

He nods, enthusiastic at the prospect of being out of the Dai-Gurren and into his own mech. He hasn't needed the crutches for almost three days, and has been able to walk and rough-house with the others with only the slightest nausea.

Yoko manages to smile until she's out the door. She knows that Simon needs him more than she does, but can't help herself from feeling jealous. She thinks _If I could be honest, I'd ask him to come to my room, instead_.

They haven't discussed the kiss. They haven't said anything. He hasn't done anything. She isn't sure if she's relieved or disappointed. _Tomorrow_, she thinks. _Tomorrow._

Kamina visits Simon's room in the night. He raps on the wall beside the door, but it slides open automatically. The lights are on, but dimmed, as Simon stands on his knees on the bed, looking out the window at the rainy night sky.

"Been rainin' a lot lately," Kamina says. Simon nods cheerfully without turning away. Boota turns around on the younger boy's head to see Kamina, and makes a motion that might be waving. Kamina lets the mole-pig climb onto his hand when he approaches Simon, ruffling the boy's hair.

Simon looks up at him while he fixes his hair and goggles. "What's up?" He asks, apparently pleased with his entirely still-messy hair.

"Was thinking' we could go train or something'." The older boy says. "Been cooped up too long. Gotta get out."

"Is it okay for you to be doing that?" Simon asks.

Kamina just shrugs. "It ain't like it's a real fight. Yoko said 's fine."

Simon nods, then looks hesitant, and turns back to the window. He eyes Kamina's ghostly reflection in the glass. It's easy to focus on the rain, and blur him out completely, Simon thinks. The dark, cloudy sky outside continues to pour down. "A-about Yoko," he manages awkwardly, but trails off, not sure what he wants to say or how to say it.

Kamina raises an eyebrow, and puts his hands on his hips. "What about her?"

"Nothing," he says, and shakes his head. "Let's go train. Maybe piloting will help you heal."

Kamina easily forgets the previous subject, and agrees readily. He asks "Why would it?"

Simon shrugs, pulling on his jacket and slipping into his shoes. "You're just that kind of person."

It's nice to see him so confident. It's nice to see him with the bounce in his step he had as a young child. Back when it was just the two of them in Jiiha. The younger boy is proud of his fighting, and Kamina thinks, although he wanted to be helping him fight, perhaps not having him for almost a week has helped his self-esteem.

Simon walks happily towards the loading bay, half-bobbing his head. He says "The rain isn't so bad."

* * *

lol to be continued


	2. Chapter 2

**A Morning Flower  
**

They train through the night and through the morning, enthralled by each others' returning company. The sunrise is beautiful, even on a cloudy, gray day.

It's all so relaxing. That is, until Yoko's voice comes on the intercom, half-frantic and all static. "Kamina! It's morning, there are enemies coming!" He sees the others getting into their ganmen and coming out in preparation, and turns to head back inside. Voice quieter now, he hears Yoko begin to say "Geez, didn't you two get any sleep last n--"

An enemy round-house kicks Gurren-Lagann away. Kamina curses loudly, while Simon grunts. Gurren-Lagann creaks from the rain and the hit; bouncing back where there should have been a sizeable dent. The youth's face pops up on screen beside him.

"The others will distract them, so you and I need to go back so that Rossiu can take your place."

"I can fight," Kamina says. They dodge the enemy's loose punches like clockwork, ignoring the beastman's shouting entirely. They talk over him.

Simon shakes his head. "You barely lived last time, Bro. There's heroic, there's manly, and there's stupid. It's not running away if we have other people. You're still hurt."

Kamina sighs loudly, and for emphasis, punches the other beastman's ganmen in the face. "I ain't gonna run away when I'm protected by this fine man, here." He isn't sure himself whether he means Gurren or Simon, but the boy assumes the first, and frowns, taking over the controls.

He trips the other ganmen, and punches it again; this time the small drills on his knuckles spin slowly, but surely enough the other mech practically falls to pieces. Simon's eyes linger on the drills before her looks to assess the area. Kittan and the others are having no trouble with the other enemies, shouting enthusiastically and fighting like they're flailing. They have no idea what they're doing, like always, but with their sheer effort it's not a problem.

"I guess it's fine," Simon says slowly. It's strange to have the contrast of a calm conversation while their surroundings fly by and spin around them; while the clanking and booming of metal and bullets is all around them, barely muffled by their steel encasing. "But let me do the work for today," he says.

Kamina looks startled for a moment, but a wide smile quickly settles on his face. He leans back. "A'right," he says. "This seats a hell of a lot comfier than that bed, anyway." He lets go of the controls.

Simon laughs, and back-hands a ganmen away from Kittan. The blond squawks indignantly, but quickly switches to a new enemy when he realizes that communications with everyone but Yoko have been shut off.

So Kamina relaxes, to an extent. He remains somewhat tense, itching to fight, wanting to take the controls. But he'll do what Simon says, this time. Just this once, they'll switch roles. He watches the fight go on, and can't find anything to criticize in Simon's fighting. He thinks Simon is becoming amazing. When he looks at the screen, Simon is smirking. It's an unfamiliar expression. He smiles, sure, and even looks proud. But smirking, boasting, bursting with pride? It's unfamiliar and new. It looks nice on him.

"Good job, Simon," Kamina says when there's a brief lull in the fight. The others don't need help, and more ganmen have yet to arrive on the scene. Simon glances to his screen of Kamina, and opens his mouth. Whatever he was going to say is cut off by an uncharacteristically loud "Damn," as another ganmen falls from the sky, spiraling and spinning. The momentum sends Gurren-Lagann flying, over the edge of a cliff.

The landing hurts far less than Kamina expected, _especially_ with his injuries. Which isn't to say it doesn't hurt. It does. Like a _bitch_. But he deals with it, and pushes himself up. The screen blinks before it lights up, and he sees Simon hunched over in his seat, goggles fallen around his neck.

"Oi, Simon," He says, and tests the controls. Everything seems to be working okay. After a moment he remembers to check himself. His body seems to be okay, as well.

The boy doesn't reply, but Yoko's voice comes over the speakers; "Are you okay?" She sounds worried, but speaks quickly.

"We're fine." Kamina looks around. The cliff-side looks about ready to melt, if the rain keeps up. Like a big pile of mud. "Just need to get back up, no big deal."

The girl's voice is covered by a quiet static when she says, somewhat relieved, "That's why I told you to come back, idiot." He can hear her rifle firing in the background; can hear the fabric of her muffler shifting against itself. Can hear the rain. Or maybe that's just the rain around him. He's not sure.

"Looks like Simon's out," he tells her. "Do I got time to get him up?"

More fabric shifting. Her "I think we're fine here," is nearly incoherent.

He shuts off the communication link for now, and opens the hatch. He has to climb, and pointedly doesn't wince, hating his side and the burning pain inside it. When he reaches Lagann, he opens it up, and shakes Simon's shoulder. The boy stirs, but only just so. Kamina shakes him harder, and this time he wakes up full-force.

He sits up quickly, slamming his forehead into Kamina's chin, and interrupts his own "What happened," with a pained groan. He tries again, holding his head. "What happened?"

"Fell," Kamina says, and rubs his chin. Simon looks devastated for a moment, but when Kamina quickly says "Everyone's fine for now," the expression quickly fades.

The rain still falls. His hair sticks to his face, and his shoulders are damp. The boy looks around, and cranes his neck to look up the cliff. There's something in the way his eyes narrow that makes Kamina follow his gaze.

Against the dark sky, a ganmen stands over the edge of the mountain. It throws something over the edge before slowly walking away with weighted steps. The two boys stare at the strange object as it slides down the hill, then exchange glances.

Wordlessly, they climb out and off of their mech, and begin walking towards the box. When they reach it, the two stare for a long moment. Kamina smacks the top of it, but nothing happens other than the dull and hollow clang. He says "Looks like it'll take your drill," while shaking his now-red hand.

There are many more boxes around them. Hundreds, even. They are withered and worn, covered in mud and the debris of having been here for a very long time. This box is new, still pale, the surface still shining as the mud washes away with the rain.

Simon nods dully, and stares at the box a moment longer before inserting the drill like a key. The small lights around the top light up, and he can hear the air compression leaving it - can see thick fog emerging, pouring out and highlighted by the inside glow.

Inside the box, is a girl. Simon's age, perhaps younger, though she looks to be taller, with such long legs pulled up to her chest. Such long, smooth, pale legs. Her hair flows around her body, yellow, blue, and curling everywhere.

Kamina whistles loudly at the sight, not quiet sure what else to do. Simon just stares. When the girl slowly moves, begins to sit up and open her eyes, Simon begins to flail; he looks to Kamina for what to do. The older boy just shrugs.

The girl looks at them with bleary eyes, and says "Good evening."

"G-good evening," Simon says back reflexively, at the same time as Kamina says "It's morning, kiddo."

She smiles, eyes still half-lidded. "It is very dark, for being day-time."

Simon stares, bewildered. Still, he speaks politely, "But today there are a lot of clouds covering the sun." He remembers what Yoko and Leeron have been teaching him about weather patterns.

The girl blinks. Her eyes open wide, and she brightens, quickly raising her head and looking up to the sky. "This is the outside!" She announces, voice now clear. Kamina gives her a skeptical look, and nods slowly. "It is raining!" She adds, equally enthusiastic.

"It's not that great," Kamina says.

"It is very wonderful," she insists, and climbs out of the box. Simon blushes and looks away; she isn't wearing underwear, apparently. Kamina doesn't bother looking away, but doesn't seem to notice or care. The girl stands in the mud, shifting her weight from foot to foot, and swaying back and forth. "It feels very sticky and cold, and it is squishing between my toes."

"That's mud for ya'," Kamina says.

Simon asks "Are you okay without shoes? It's cold…"

The girl shakes her head contentedly, and after a pause, looking them over, smiles. "Who might you be?"

Kamina points to himself, "I'm Kamina, the Great leader of the Great Gurren Brigade!" He motions to Simon, intending to introduce him, but the boy cuts him off, rubbing his neck and staring more at the girl's feet than her face.

"--I'm Simon," he says.

The girl tilts her head to the side curiously. "Just Simon?"

He supposes it is a bit overshadowed next to Kamina's introduction, but thinks that's how things should be. He tries "Simon the digger?" and looks to Kamina for confirmation if that's a good answer. Kamina grins.

"Those are both very lovely names," she says, and repeats "Kamina and Simon," as she looks at them. Very closely. In fact, she steps up closer, standing almost between them, and staring very intently up to Kamina's face, then turning to Simon's.

"You do not have fangs or scales, or any such things," She observes. Simon wonders if she intended to introduce herself; either way, she seems entirely distracted. She asks "Are you like me?" But before either can answer, or ask what she means, she touches Simon's face. Her hands are as soft as they look, though they are cold. He wonders why he feels colder when she pulls away to touch Kamina's arm. Her eyes widen, and she looks back to Simon, wide-eyed. "You are very soft, but he is very firm!"

"W-well, all people are different, so…" Simon manages. He doesn't think she meant anything bad by it.

She nods slowly, then looks up to Kamina and echoes "People?"

"Like humans," he says, and gives her a strange look. He turns to Simon; "This chick is weird."

"Chick?" She repeats, curiously. "Humans?"

"Girly," Kamina corrects himself. Then explains, "Humans, like you and me and Simon."

She still looks confused, but this seems to remind her of introductions, and she says "My name is Nia! I am very pleased to meet you, Simon, Kamina."

"Nia," The younger boy tests. The rain begins to stop, for which he's grateful. He wants a warm bath, and dry clothes before he gets sick, and worries for Kamina's health. He exchanges glances with Kamina, as the light begins to fall from above, making the older man glow. They are suddenly acutely aware of how long they've been here. "We should… Get going," Simon says, not taking his eyes off of his light-bathed friend.

Kamina nods, and crosses his arms over his chest. "Girly, where are you going? 'S dangerous here."

She stares. She opens her mouth twice, but no sound comes out, until she finally says, sounding only mildly upset, "I do not know where I am, and I do not know where I should go."

Kamina steps away, and pulls Simon, turning away from her. She amuses herself, playing with her hands in the light, clinking her bracelets, and wiggling her toes, and waits for them to turn back.

"We should bring her back with us, for now," Simon says. "It's dangerous to leave her here." He glances back, only now noticing that the light has also enveloped Nia. He watches her movements - they seem childish and graceful all at once. Whimsical, with no hesitation or meaning.

He's so busy staring over his shoulder that he hardly hears Kamina's agreement, and is startled when the older boy stands, and says "Come on, Girly."

He begins to walk away without waiting, and Simon glances from the girl, to the boy's back. Nia begins to follow obediently, and Simon stops her. "You should wear these," he says, blushing, feeling too self-conscious to take his shoes off easily. Still, he manages after a moment of stumbling, and she slips into them quickly.

"Thank you, Simon," she says, and holds out her hand. "Will you not be cold?"

"I'm fine," he says, and takes her hand, feeling a bit too confused to be shy.

* * *

Haha what is this gay chapter name

Anyway yeah here's Nia because I love her.


End file.
